Smartwatch Thread (news/apps/updates)

Soldato
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Anyone with Samsung galaxy watch 2/3 ECG and blood pressure monitors have just been added in an update , tho you need a blood pressure monitor to calibrate the watch for BP
 
Man of Honour
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Hi guys.

For those using it, is Wear OS on new watches like the Ticwatch Pro 3 and Fossil gen 5 still terrible or is it a lot better now?

Thinking of moving to one due to the poor app support on Tizen on the otherwise great Galaxy watches.

Cheers,
Mal
 
Associate
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Hi guys.

For those using it, is Wear OS on new watches like the Ticwatch Pro 3 and Fossil gen 5 still terrible or is it a lot better now?

Thinking of moving to one due to the poor app support on Tizen on the otherwise great Galaxy watches.

Cheers,
Mal

There are rumors that the next Samsung galaxy watches are moving back to wear os. it's all in the tech news.

Not that it bothers me personally. I use my watch for notifications(when my phone is either in my pocket or locked in a locker at work or making/receiving the odd call or sending the odd text message. having used both wear os and Tizen I find Tizen defo better. more stable, ect ect. I for one will be sad to see Tizen gone.
 
Associate
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Never understand why you need a ton of apps on a smartwatch, My Active 2 covers everything i need from a smartwatch out of the box & there is no shortage of watchfaces to choose from should you get bored of the stock one's.
And it now has support for both Blood Pressure & ECG finally what more do you need?
 
Caporegime
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Hi guys.

For those using it, is Wear OS on new watches like the Ticwatch Pro 3 and Fossil gen 5 still terrible or is it a lot better now?

Thinking of moving to one due to the poor app support on Tizen on the otherwise great Galaxy watches.

Cheers,
Mal
I'm using Wear OS on the TicWatch Pro 3 and although I've got nothing to benchmark it against (it's my first proper smart watch), I'm perfectly happy with it.

It's smooth, intuitive, and flexible in my opinion. Perhaps the user experience is very dependent on the watch hardware. It's also much harder to make Wear OS work well with all the different scenarios, compared to a closed system like iOS.

Mine has literally just had an update on the watch actually. Not sure what it did / fixed.
 
Man of Honour
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The TicWatch Pro 3 has arrived today and I;ve got it setup. Getting used to bit over the Galaxy Watch 3.

First impressions are good, although I currently feel the Galaxy Watch 3 is easier to navigate, I'm guessing this is just because I'm not used to Wear OS!

What watch face do you guys find the best? I had a nice one on the Galaxy watch which showed a lot - time, date, steps, battery, heart rate, distance, floors all on once face.

Thanks,
Mal
 
Caporegime
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The TicWatch Pro 3 has arrived today and I;ve got it setup. Getting used to bit over the Galaxy Watch 3.

First impressions are good, although I currently feel the Galaxy Watch 3 is easier to navigate, I'm guessing this is just because I'm not used to Wear OS!

What watch face do you guys find the best? I had a nice one on the Galaxy watch which showed a lot - time, date, steps, battery, heart rate, distance, floors all on once face.

Thanks,
Mal
Marine Commander was always recommended when I was asking the same question. I downloaded and installed it and instantly paid the ~£2 for the 'premium' version, which basically just removes the 'DEMO' logo.

I'm a big fan. Very customisable in terms of colours to suit tastes / strap and full of configuration options.

u83tTeVh.jpg
 

V_R

V_R

Soldato
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Yeah Marine Commander and Pujie Black are the way to go.

I really like the TW3, if its a decent price again, I might pick it up.
 
Associate
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Hi all,

Never had a smartwatch. I've been doing a bit of research.
Here is what I want

-GPS
-Abilty to install android golf apps such as GolfPad and Hole 19.
-Built in storage for music
-Will track a run with stats without phone.
-NFC

That's about it really I think.

I am not bothered by looks at all, would rather it be function over form. I have no intentions of using it as a normal watch. Mostly for golf with added benefit of run tracking and steps tracking etc.

I'm a little overwhelmed by the choice/options. Looking to spend as little as possible to be honest as I only really need basic functions and don't care about looks.

One that I have come across so far is Huawei watch GT 2 it's only £119 and seems to fit the bill?

The naming conventions seem to all over the place. Would the Huawei watch GT 2 allow me to install android apps from the app store? I read somewhere that it is Huawei's own OS and another seems to suggest it has Wear OS on it.

Wear OS is what I am after I think to allow me to install the gold apps?

I'm happy to go with Chinese brands if they fit they fit the bill. Let's say budget up to £150 if that helps! Don't want to spend much more as I likely won't use it that much haha.
 
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Caporegime
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Warwickshire
Hi all,

Never had a smartwatch. I've been doing a bit of research.
Here is what I want

-GPS
-Abilty to install android golf apps such as GolfPad and Hole 19.
-Built in storage for music
-Will track a run with stats without phone.
-NFC

That's about it really I think.

I am not bothered by looks at all, would rather it be function over form. I have no intentions of using it as a normal watch. Mostly for golf with added benefit of run tracking and steps tracking etc.

I'm a little overwhelmed by the choice/options. Looking to spend as little as possible to be honest as I only really need basic functions and don't care about looks.

One that I have come across so far is Huawei watch GT 2 it's only £119 and seems to fit the bill?

The naming conventions seem to all over the place. Would the Huawei watch GT 2 allow me to install android apps from the app store? I read somewhere that it is Huawei's own OS and another seems to suggest it has Wear OS on it.

Wear OS is what I am after I think to allow me to install the gold apps?

I'm happy to go with Chinese brands if they fit they fit the bill. Let's say budget up to £150 if that helps! Don't want to spend much more as I likely won't use it that much haha.

I briefly had a Huawei GT2 and it was absolutely brilliant in the main ways. Outstanding display and ridiculous battery life.

It doesn't have NFC (that works in the UK anyway) but I decided I could live without that. The problem was the heart rate tracker, which was important to me for exercise tracking, was broken and remained too low during a workout. I sent it back for a TicWatch Pro 3 (Google Pay + Stocard on it is great, it turns out).

It's a proprietary OS and not Wear OS. You cannot install any old Google Apps on it.

I'm not sure what's best for your requirements, I just wanted to feed back on the GT2.
 
Associate
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I briefly had a Huawei GT2 and it was absolutely brilliant in the main ways. Outstanding display and ridiculous battery life.

It doesn't have NFC (that works in the UK anyway) but I decided I could live without that. The problem was the heart rate tracker, which was important to me for exercise tracking, was broken and remained too low during a workout. I sent it back for a TicWatch Pro 3 (Google Pay + Stocard on it is great, it turns out).

It's a proprietary OS and not Wear OS. You cannot install any old Google Apps on it.

I'm not sure what's best for your requirements, I just wanted to feed back on the GT2.

Cool, good to hear. Sounds decent but thats off the list then I want Wear OS. TicWatches are also on my list. Looks like ill have to spend a little more! NFC is not so much for payments but for the option of adding golf club tags so sync with watch/phone. Payment just a bonus! Never heard of Stocard will check it out.

Ticwatch Pro vs Ticwatch pro 3? Any thoughts. Looks to be just a newer version, will watch a few videos on it!

Thanks mate,
Sean
 
Caporegime
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Ticwatch Pro vs Ticwatch pro 3? Any thoughts. Looks to be just a newer version, will watch a few videos on it!

Thanks mate,
Sean
Battery life I think was the main thing. The battery life on the first one was a total deal breaker, the Pro 3 is just about acceptable to me at 2 days of full use.

Stocard holds loyalty and store cards, because Google Pay on Wear OS doesn't (yet) store them, like the Android version does.
 
Associate
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Battery life I think was the main thing. The battery life on the first one was a total deal breaker, the Pro 3 is just about acceptable to me at 2 days of full use.

Stocard holds loyalty and store cards, because Google Pay on Wear OS doesn't (yet) store them, like the Android version does.

Thanks mate. Battery life not really an issue for me as Ill probably only it for golf and hope it inspires me to start running. I doubt I would wear it day in day out!

Ill take it on board though and see if I can find a comparison between the two.

Cheers,
Sean
 
Man of Honour
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Incidentally guys, hat do you use to track workouts?

I was considering tracking in Google Fit, as it then syncs to Strava, or am I best just tracking in Strava? I wasn't going to bother tracking actual activities in MobVoi, although obviously it tracks steps etc.

Thanks,
Mal
 
Caporegime
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Incidentally guys, hat do you use to track workouts?

I was considering tracking in Google Fit, as it then syncs to Strava, or am I best just tracking in Strava? I wasn't going to bother tracking actual activities in MobVoi, although obviously it tracks steps etc.

Thanks,
Mal
Fit, but then it's the only app I've found that has skipping rope as an activity and that's 90% of my cardio.
 
Soldato
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17 Jul 2007
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Solihull-Florida
There are rumors that the next Samsung galaxy watches are moving back to wear os. it's all in the tech news.

Not that it bothers me personally. I use my watch for notifications(when my phone is either in my pocket or locked in a locker at work or making/receiving the odd call or sending the odd text message. having used both wear os and Tizen I find Tizen defo better. more stable, ect ect. I for one will be sad to see Tizen gone.


If true I will buy it.
As long as they keep the rotating bezel.
 
Associate
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If true I will buy it.
As long as they keep the rotating bezel.
i am pretty sure it's the active 3 so no bezel. With the watch 4 later on.

Tbh when i moved from the galaxy 46mm to the active 2 I thought I would miss the rotating bezel. but it only took a day to get used to the touch bezel and in fact, I think for me personally it is actually better.
 
Soldato
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i am pretty sure it's the active 3 so no bezel. With the watch 4 later on.

Tbh when i moved from the galaxy 46mm to the active 2 I thought I would miss the rotating bezel. but it only took a day to get used to the touch bezel and in fact, I think for me personally it is actually better.


I have had 2 samsung smartwatches and there's still not many apps on the store.
 
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